Infants&#39; wear



K. B. WALKER Oct. 2, 1962 INFANTS WEAR Filed March 21, 1960 INVENTOR: KENNETH B. WALKER BY 2 P 7 7:;

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,056,405 INFANTS WEAR Kenneth B. Walker, 529 Bartow St., St. Simons Island, Ga. Filed Mar. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 16,268 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-287) This invention relates to infants wear in the class of diaper-pants and training pants.

An object of the invention is to provide pants of this class which may be worn by an infant of almost any age, and particularly including the training period, affording comfort to the infant and freedom from anxiety on the part of parents or attendants before the infant has been trained.

Another object is to provide such pants which may be worn by the infant until they become outgrown and yet may be more easily washed after the training period has passed.

Still another object is to provide such pants which may be washed with a minimum of difficulty before and during the training period.

The objects mentioned are realized in training pants according to the invention which, briefly stated, include conventionally knitted pants generally conforming to the contours of the infant and having a belt portion, an absorbent lining insert within the pants having front, rear and crotch portions and detachably fastened to the belt portion at the front and rear of the pants, and a discrete layer of substantially impervious flexible material between the pants and the insert.

In the accompanying drawing showing, by way of example, two of many possible embodiments of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a front view of the invention, partly broken away.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the insert showing constructional details thereof.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the impervious material.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view of one modification of the present invention.

The invention comprises a substantially conventional knitted infant pants as a body having a gathered belt portion 1 1 fitted with an interior elastic band 12. The body has also normal leg holes 13, preferably provided with stretchable knitted binding, as at 14, at each side of the crotch 15.

Within the body 10 there is disposed, as somewhat of a partial lining, an insert, generally designated 16 of absorbent, stretchable, cotton, textile material. The insert or liner 16 is preferably made up of two thicknesses of more or less fiat layers or plies 17 and 18 of knitted goods bound at their lateral edges with a binding strip 19. In order to conform generally to the appropriate portions of the interior of the pants and yet provide ventilation at the sides, the insert is shaped with wide end portions 20 and 21, for disposition against the rear and frontal portions 22 and 23, respectively, of the body 10, and an isthmian portion 24 to extend substantially across the crotch from one leg hole to the other. One end portion is longer than the other since the buttock area is greater than that of the abdomen. The end portions are squared oif, as at 25 and 26, for their edges normally to terminate just below the body belt portion 11 and are provided with binding stitching 27.

The liner insert is detachably fastened to the inside of body 10 by means of suitable snap fasteners generally designated as numeral 28 which comprise a male member 29 mounted to the insert by mounting washer 30. Mounted on the body 10 is a mating female member 31 which allows the insert to be removably attached to the body 10.

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A barrier in the form of impervious sheet or layer 32 of yieldable material such as a vinyl or polyethylene plastic, rubber, Pliofilm, and the like is usually employed in combination with the insert, having generally the same shape thereof but slightly longer, disposed between the insert and the body 10. The barrier or layer 32 may be permanently attached to the insert 16 (FIG. 5) by means of the edge binding 19, and the stitching 27 so as to leave the intramarginal portions of insert liner and barrier free for appreciable movement relative to each other.

In such a case, the mounting stud member 29 passes through the barrier 32 at the holes in grommets 33, being disposed on the barrier layer as in FIG. 4, and thence through the two thicknesses 17 and 18 of the absorbent material. This construction is often preferable during late phases of, or after, the training period when the pants are to be used largely as a safeguard, and convenience of use rather than ease of washing is desirable.

While Washing of the above form of the invention is not excessively diflicult, there are some disadvantages. Washing liquid reaches between the barrier only through the insert thicknesses 17 and 13, at the crotch or isthmian zone 24, which especially requires attention even into the longer end portion 20, is more diflicult to clean.

During the early phases of the infants use of pants, ease of washing pants is often more important than ease of dressing him. In such cases it is desirable that the barrier and insert be readily separable. It has been found that generally satisfactory results can be obtained by omitting the barrier from the permanent construction of the insert liner, or in other words, mounting the fastener to secure only the two thicknesses 17 and 18 of the liner together, and the barrier can be hold in place between the liner and body 10 by fasteners 29.

The absence of the barrier from the integral construction of the insert permits more rapid drying after Washing; moreover, after the training period is nearly over, the barrier may be omitted in order to permit better iventilaition to prevent rash and other skin troubles. Finally, use of the insert and barrier both may be dispensed with and the body 10 used as conventional pants.

It is contemplated that in the earlier stages of training the integral form of the invention, wherein the insert and barrier are permanently connected, will be used. The infant or child then begins to learn that the pants can be pulled down due to the yieldability of the elastic band 12 in the gathered portion. During this period of training the soiling of the insert will of course be greater than that of the body 10, so that the insert becomes the Worse worn from cleaning. As the training progresses, the child may then use the separate liner and barrier.

In any event it is preferable that the barrier be transparent in either form of the invention, so as to determine the extent of soiling of either the pants body 10 or the absorbent insert without removal of the barrier. Transparent vinyl plastics are suitable material for this purpose.

Normally a child who has so progressed is more active and tends to perspire more freely. If the barrier 32 be of normally comfortable loose fit and plastic film such as of the vinyl types that do not cling excessively, there will be during the childs activity a certain amount of bellows-like action tending to effect a movement of air between the insert and barrier. While this movement is not biased to any given direction, nevertheless there is a tendency for air to enter in and be expelled from between the liner and barrier at the marginal portions thereof in the more or less open zone 34 above the leg Where the end portions 21 and 22 do not meet in the zone of the body side seams 35. Similar movement may take place at the edge portions 25 and 26 between the fasteners. With a continued all-over movement of air, perspiration vapor will tend to diffuse to regions of lower concentration and out past from between the liner and barrier. Vapors, as opposed to liquids, are of comparatively no great concern and in fact: their emission is often desirable as an indication that the pants have been soiled.

The present constructions do not impose any extra demands over the prior art in general on the part of the child. He is .not generally concerned with the readying of the pants for Wear butthe mere learning to draw them down at the appropriate occasions. His attendant will have a minimum of inconvenience in readying the pants, and it is contemplated that spare liners with or without barriers will be at hand so that a great versatility of use will be possible according to the demands of Widely varying occasions.

The invention claimed is:

Training pants comprising an outer knitted pants body tions of said body and an isthmian portion extending across the crotch portion of said body from one leg hole to the other, the edges of said liner terminating near the belt portion of said body, snap fastening members having cooperating male and female elements connected to the corner portions of said liner and on said body near the belt portion thereof, and a sheet of liquid-impervious yieldable material between the liner and body secured therebetween, said sheet being at least as large in area as and having substantially the same shape as the liner, said sheet being provided With holes adjacent its corner portions for the male elements to pass through, the male elements including mounting Washers thereon in contact With the liner for contacting said sheet, said sheet and said liner defining with respect to said body upwardly and laterally open continuous spaces from the belt portion to the leg holes of said body, said snap fastening means providing the sole connection of said liner and said sheet to said pants body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,558,215 Habig et al. June 26,1951 2,577,398 Blake Dec. 4, 1951 2,685,879 Emmet Aug. 10, 1954 

